Handball Bundesliga club SG Flensburg-Handewitt parted ways with coach Maik Machulla one day after the crashing 19:29 bankruptcy at arch-rival THW Kiel. Assistant coach Mark Bult will look after the team on an interim basis.
Machulla was “affected” by the decision, said SG advisory board chief Boy Meesenburg in an interview with NDR. The 46-year-old had been responsible for Schleswig-Holstein since 2017. Under his direction Flensburg became champion in 2018 and 2019. The dismissal of the native of Greifswald came as a surprise to outsiders.
Although the Schleswig-Holsteiners had recently suffered three bitter defeats in three different competitions, they had previously remained unbeaten 21 times in a row.
Meesenburg: “Time to take the next step”
“But we weren’t sovereign there either. We felt that maybe now is the right time to take the next step. This step is bitter for Maik,” Meesenburg told NDR. According to the head of the advisory board, the decision to leave the coach on leave was made at short notice: “We actually didn’t expect that the move we made today would be necessary today. But we also saw the game in Kiel yesterday and are As a member of the advisory board, we agreed with the management that we now have to initiate a fresh start during the international break.
SG President Dierk Schmäschke said the same thing in an interview with NDR: “Everything that has happened in the last few days and games makes me think a lot and must also motivate us all to think new and differently and to focus everything on the to turn your head.”
Machulla player, assistant trainer and head coach at SG
Machulla came to Flensburg as a player in 2012. He then took over as assistant coach under Ljubomir Vranjes. During their time together with the Swede, they triumphed in the Champions League in 2014 and won the cup a year later. In 2017, the former national player was then promoted to head coach. The 46-year-old justified the trust placed in him with two championships and success in 2019 in the DHB Supercup. Machulla’s leave of absence was correspondingly difficult for those responsible at SG.
Maik Machulla has to leave the SG after five years as a coach.
“Maik Machulla is and will always be a great part of our SG history.”
— Advisory Board Chairman Boy Meesenburg
“Maik has shaped an era at SG. He has done an excellent job in recent years and has led us to great success. We are very grateful to him for that,” said Glandorf. Meesenburg added: “Maik Machulla is and will remain a great part of our SG history. As the advisory board, we have great confidence in the management to develop a new beginning with outstanding sporting goals.”
Two titles lost, championship a long way off
After the recent appearances, Flensburg’s executive floor apparently no longer believed that Machulla would be able to moderate the “new beginning”. The coach was still on the road to success with the North Germans until the weekend before last. Then came the bankruptcy in the semi-finals of the DHB Cup against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, the loss in the quarter-finals of the European League against BM Granollers and now the high bankruptcy in the Bundesliga duel at THW Kiel, after which the championship chances of the SG have dropped significantly .
For the time being, assistant coach Bult will take care of the team. It cannot be ruled out that the Dutchman, who has assisted Machulla since 2017, will become a permanent solution. “It’s now a great opportunity for Mark to assert himself here,” said Meesenburg.
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Schleswig-Holstein Magazine | 04/24/2023 | 6:00 p.m
